As the old man fled, his legs felt weak. He couldn't even remember where he had found the courage to ask Qi Oliver for benefits to his face.
"You can make your choice now. Those who want to leave, I won't stop you," Qi Oliver looked at the others and said calmly.
Some people lowered their eyes, hesitated for a moment, then turned and left silently. Although Qi Oliver had been a decent person before, his bloodlust was now too terrifying—they didn't dare to follow him. Moreover, with the Mengs wiped out, Qi Oliver would surely be swamped with troubles soon!
Gradually, more than half of the people in front of the courtyard had left. In the end, only nine people remained. Most of them were ordinary guards, and only one was a guest elder at the Master Realm.
Qi Oliver said calmly: "They all left. Why aren't you leaving?"
A middle-aged guard bowed respectfully and said: "This humble one is Li Theodore, and I am willing to follow you from now on."
"We are also willing to follow you!" the others said in unison, bowing.
Qi Oliver smiled faintly and said: "I wiped out the entire Meng family. There will surely be a lot of trouble coming soon. Aren't you afraid?"
Li Theodore said solemnly: "All of us who stayed here admire your character. No matter what troubles lie ahead, we are willing to share them with you!"
Qi Oliver nodded, then shifted his gaze to Qin Sebastian—the only guest elder who had stayed. Although he didn't ask a question, his gaze made Qin Sebastian feel an indescribable sense of pressure.
Qin Sebastian quickly bowed and said: "Although I have had little contact with you, I have witnessed everything you did for the Meng family over the past three years, and I have always admired you in my heart. Everything that happened to the Meng family today is what they deserve. So I am also willing to follow you!"
Qi Oliver smiled faintly: "I hope you all mean what you say. Although I can't promise you any specific benefits right now, as long as you are loyal to me, I will never treat you badly."
"Drag their bodies out and deal with them!"
After speaking, Qi Oliver turned and walked back into the main house.
Li Theodore looked at Qin Sebastian and asked: "Elder Qin, how should we deal with these bodies?"
Qin Sebastian narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "The Mengs are heartless and ungrateful. People like them—just drag them outside the city and throw them away casually!"
"Understood!" Li Theodore replied, then joined the other guards to start cleaning up the courtyard.
Inside the house, Qi Oliver raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Could it be that Qin Sebastian has long held a grudge against the Meng family?"
In the current situation, choosing to stay was actually irrational. Over the years, the Meng family had offended many people in their pursuit of expansion. Now that Meng Christopher and Liu Mia were dead, the backbone of the Mengs was broken, and the guest elders had scattered. Even without the Spirit Martial Sect coming to hold them accountable, other clans in Yuan Spirit City would never miss the chance to carve up the Meng family's property. If Qi Oliver were in their shoes, he would definitely choose to leave and find another powerful family to attach himself to—rather than staying to share the risks for the sake of so-called "character."
So Qi Oliver was skeptical about Li Theodore, Qin Sebastian, and the others' choice. He used the Heavenly Map to spy on them.
Li Theodore took off the storage rings from Meng Christopher, Liu Mia, and the others, placed them all on the stone table in the courtyard, then put their bodies into sacks.
Qin Sebastian returned to his residence. He took out a small string of bells from his arms, his eyes turning slightly red.
"Ling'er, grandpa couldn't avenge you with his own hands, but now Meng Nathan—the scoundrel who harmed you—has been killed by Qi Oliver. Moreover, that beast died a terrible death. You can finally rest in peace now."
Qin Sebastian whispered with a choked voice, pressing the small bells tightly against his chest as if the bells were his granddaughter.
Qi Oliver suddenly understood. It turned out that Qin Sebastian had joined the Meng family to wait for an opportunity to avenge his granddaughter! In that case, Qin Sebastian had stayed to repay Qi Oliver for this favor.
Qi Oliver shifted his attention away from Qin Sebastian and followed Li Theodore and the others.
The Heavenly Map had countless magical uses. Surveillance was just its most basic function. This kind of surveillance left no trace—even those with cultivation far higher than Qi Oliver could not detect it. Moreover, this surveillance ability could ignore any restrictions and barriers! As long as it was within the range shown on the Heavenly Map, Qi Oliver could clearly see everything within that range. Even spiritual sense could not compare to such a magical function.
During his surveillance, Qi Oliver saw Li Theodore and the others drive a carriage out of the city. Then they threw the bodies of Meng Christopher and the others into a mountain pit outside the city.
"Meng Christopher, don't blame us! If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being blind and heartless! Qi Oliver is such a genius and has done so much for the Meng family, but all you cared about was currying favor with the Spirit Martial Sect! You deserve this end!"
Li Theodore spat into the mountain pit and cursed a few times. Then he turned around and said seriously to the seven guards behind him: "Brothers, since we have chosen to stay, we must be loyal to Qi Oliver from now on—never have thoughts of betrayal! You all saw what happened to the Meng family today. Although Qi Oliver is a good master and has never treated us badly, he also tolerates no betrayal! If anyone betrays him, his methods will be more ruthless than anyone else's! If any of you still want to leave now, leave quickly. Those who are willing to go back with me, Li Theodore, must be wholeheartedly loyal to Qi Oliver from now on!"
"Brother Li, since we chose to stay, we are willing to follow Qi Oliver!"
"Haha, exactly! It's not just you who can see what kind of person Qi Oliver is."
"Qi Oliver is a natural genius. He survived this great disaster and even wiped out the entire Meng family. Hehe, following such a genius, our future is promising! Even if my talent is limited and I can't achieve much, as long as I can do something great with Qi Oliver, I will be proud of it—it will make my life worthwhile!"
"Haha, well said! From now on, the eight of us brothers will follow Qi Oliver well, do something great, and establish the Qi family in Yuan Spirit City!"
"Haha, let's do it!"
In the bedroom...
A faint smile appeared in Qi Oliver's eyes.
"Meng Christopher, Meng Sophia—your judgment is even worse than these guards!"
"You have pledged your loyalty to me, and I will reward you with opportunities for cultivation. I will not live up to your trust."
Originally, Qi Oliver didn't care whether these former subordinates of the Meng family stayed or not. In the path of martial arts, reaching the peak alone was enough to stand above the world! Subordinates were just for deployment. Having stronger subordinates only made things more convenient for him. But what surprised Qi Oliver was that among the Meng family—who were as ruthless as wolves—there were still people who could distinguish right from wrong. Since these people trusted him, Qi Oliver would certainly not be stingy.
"Although I have already reached the peak of Master Realm Ninth Rank, this strength is still far from enough."
In the bedroom, Qi Oliver narrowed his eyes and focused his mind on the Heavenly Map again.
"Switch to Spirit Shadow Mode!"
Hum!
As Qi Oliver thought this in his heart, the Heavenly Map in his spiritual sea suddenly trembled slightly. The images on the scroll changed instantly! Countless strange light clusters of different colors and sizes suddenly appeared on the miniature map of Yuan Spirit City and its surrounding areas.